Every Time We Touch
by Renval
Summary: 'I almost missed my chance with him. I'm glad I didn't.' When Aida agreed to save the Goddess Tree, she didn't know what she was getting herself into. Now that she's saved the day and summoned the Harvest King, she can't tell if she did the right thing.
1. Resolution?

It's funny how times change us; how easily our first impressions can be proven wrong. We miss out on so many things by going off the first thought that pops in our heads. We end up jumping to conclusions, worrying, stressing, avoiding, and worst of all remaining ignorant. If we just took the time to get to figure things out slowly and learn to understand, we'd all be better people.

I almost missed my chance to be with him.

I am glad that I didn't.

"It's not too much farther, Aida! Come on!" A little orange blur flew out into the light ahead, its voice ringing back into the enclosed cavern. A young woman, no older than twenty-one, could only help but smile as she walked up from the previous floor of the mine.

"Not so fast Finn! I can't keep up!" She answered as she finally made it to the natural stone archway, leaning against it as she caught her breath. She knew he was excited to finally be summoning the person who could heal the Goddess Tree, but he could wait up. She did not have the luxury of flying nor did she possess the seemingly limitless energy he had. Getting here had been some of the hardest work she had done in her entire life, and that included the past several months!

The little orang blur flew back around to her and stopped long enough to maintain a physical form. A small, pixie-like sprite sat floating in the air for but a moment before flying around behind her. His little arms began to push at her back, failing to do anything as her weight did not shift in the slightest. "Come on! Hurry up! We're almost there!" Finn muttered as he kept trying to move the weary girl from her position.

She chuckled slightly at the sight of him pushing against the stone with his legs in a further attempt to move her. He certainly was cute when he got like this; something that had made all of the work a bit easier. Tiredly, but happily she took a couple steps forward and out into the mountain air, laughing even harder when Finn went flying out into the open air from all of his effort.

He quickly regained composure, blushing in the progress, and stuck his tongue out at her before racing off towards yet another set of stairs. "Come on, Aida!" Her laugh picked up again until she saw the stairway; a sigh passed through her being as she began to trudge over to it. Why did this place have to have so many stairways? Better yet, why had the Harvest Goddess chosen to make her walk all the way up here? Surely they could have summoned whoever they were summoning on her farmland? Right?

Pushing the negative thoughts from her mind for the moment, she finished making her way up the stairway, smiling as she noticed the Harvest Goddess and the Harvest Sprites.

"Thank you for coming, Aida." The Goddess' voice resonated even more so here in the mountains. "Now we can summon the Harvest King and restore the Goddess Tree to her former health." She beamed at Aida, who could not help but smile back. All of her hard work since coming to this island from the city was about to pay off.

"Let's begin!" Alan, leader of the Harvest Sprites, said as he gathered them into a circle.

One after another, the Sprites rang their respective bells, their individual melodies combining into a unified harmony. Bright lights began to dance around the altar and fill the morning skies as the clouds surrounding the mountains lowered, creating a dense fog all over the island. From higher in the sky, a sort of gateway began to open and a fiery warmth began to splay over the altar.

Suddenly in a flash of light, he appeared in a similar fiery aura, power radiating from his very being. Long and wild hair, the color of the setting sun sprawled out everywhere yet remained in one place at once. Flowing robes made of the finest of silks and jewelry taken from the richest of golds and silvers decorated his being. He finally landed on the ground making not the slightest bit of noise, his eyes opening to reveal ruby hues as sharp as knives.

Aida's own sapphire orbs went to meet him, but when he laid eyes on her a frown spread on his face. Pain. The farmer's smile quickly faded at the sight of his displeasure, a sharp twang hidden deep within her being. She averted her gaze and took a step back only to have the Harvest Goddess keep her from doing so by pushing her forward slightly. Aida gulped as she was forced to look at him once more and take in the disgust that was apparent on his face.

To answer her previous question, no. No they could not have.

"This is the one who summoned me with the bells?" His voice boomed and echoed off the rising and falling mountaintops. His eyes sharpened even further on the human in front of him, before glaring over at each of the Sprites, waiting for an answer. When one did not come he looked over in the direction of the girl, whose lips remained pursed as she silently nodded. The antipathy plastered on his visage flared, though his look immediately softened as he glanced at the Harvest Goddess.

Immediately he moved from his spot, pushing the human aside, he looked the weakened Goddess up and down. It only took a moment before he nodded, turning to look at the girl who had summoned him. "Come to the Goddess Pond." His demand echoed even after he, the Sprites, and the Goddess disappeared in a flash of brilliant light.

Aida stood there with her mouth wide open for a full minute. It was only after that minute that she shook her head wildly in disbelief before she began to subconsciously walk down the stairs and towards the mine once again. It took her the entire trek down the mines and to the Goddess Pond to fully assess and understand the situation. But even when she got to the pond and the tree was restored she could not believe it.

She had spent the entire past few months working to save the island and all of the people on it. Some of which included spending hours in the mines, toiling in the sun, working in the snow, catching wild animals, and staying up past midnight on top of keeping her farm in tact. And what was her reward for working so hard to keep the Harvest Goddess alive? Nothing. Not even a thank you, just a demand to keep working and an awoken deity with a bad attitude.

She walked home alone that night. For the first time since she came to the island, she was totally alone. And it sucked.

A/N: Alright! So, I was disappointed by the lack of stories dealing with the Harvest King and decided to write this. This'll be my new (solo) project, which I'm very excited about! It's not much right now, but hopefully you guys will stick around because I've got a lot planned for this. You're probably wondering why this is rated M, well, later on I may or may not be a bit of Lemon (depending on what you guys have to say) and this will definitely become a more adult story. I hope you guys like it and I can't wait to see what you have to say!

~Xavier Rains


	2. Aftermath

Walking home that night had sucked, but keeping herself from crying that night had proved to be even worse. Aida could not help but break out into tears and stifle cries as she failed to get sleep; she just could not do it. Finn was gone now and the only thing she had left to remember him by was all of their accomplishments. But it was not just the fact that he was gone that upset her this much. No it was much more than that.

They had been at the Goddess Pond to restore the Goddess Tree, waiting for her to get down there after walking back alone. Though she did not feel up to being there, the Harvest Sprites and Goddess wanted her to be present. Even the Harvest King, though he still looked at her the way he had previously, bluntly stated that she needed to stay. So she reluctantly stayed, trying to smile and be happy as the Tree regained its former life.

But all chances of her smiling vanished once the Harvest King turned around to look at her. His hateful gaze fell on her and her false spirits plummeted. "Go home. Keep this from happening again." he said it so simply. Aida's face just fell, murmuring something about doing her best; he sour expression turned into one of pure disgust. "Make sure of it." his voice was like a knife against her, cutting into her being even more.

She could not respond, it just was not possible for her to respond to that. Her eyes drifted over to the Sprites and the Goddess, but they did not seem to want to get involved. Were they afraid of him? Just as much as she was now? It seemed like a viable option, especially with how cruel he seemed to be. With no support to be found in her friends, she had looked back at the deity with pursed lips and nodded.

Before he could say anything more, she turned and left.

And now she ended up crying all night because of it. It might have been different if Finn had come back home after her, but he did not. He obviously chose to remain with the King, which was a choice she would never understand.

By the time morning had broken, Aida had not gotten even an hour of sleep. But she could not afford to stay in bed all day; so as much as she did not want to, she got up to attend to her daily chores.

The cool spring air sent goosebumps running up and down her arms as she stepped outside to tend to the newly planted strawberries. Being as early in the season as it was, Aida had to be even more careful with her crop, lest she wished to lose it to a cold night. Giving them the extra hour of care was one way to make sure she got the greatest profit possible. But as she moved from plant to plant, she found herself half-heartedly checking and more often than not would have to redo the entire row.

"This is all his fault." She muttered under her breath, doing her best to hold back her tears as she moved back to the first plant on the row. "If he hadn't been so rude... so... ungrateful... ugh." She found herself hardly paying attention as she vented, causing the plant she had been checking under to be ripped up from the ground in her hands. Aida stared wide eyed at the plant for a moment before screaming and throwing it into the grass beside her field.

"All his fault, ungrateful selfish bastard." She continued to mutter to herself, stomping towards her barn when the door to the house next to hers opened. In her rage she did not notice the person leaving the building run over to her and get in the way. She bumped into him, his ground held and hers coming out from under her; she looked up rather dazed, sitting on the ground.

"What was that for?" She almost screamed, but turned red instantly when she saw her hired hand, Andrew, standing there with his arms crossed.

"I think the better question would be: What was that for?" Andrew questioned sternly as he pointed over at the ripped up plant. "I know you didn't get home till late last night, but being in a foul mood is no reason to destroy our profit."

"It's none of your concern." Aida huffed, standing herself back up and brushing herself off before trying to get around him.

"If it ruins our farm, it is." He retorted, putting an arm on her shoulder, gripping roughly. This earned him an angry glare from the female farmer, who tried to break away from his grip. His grip on her became even tighter, a displeased frown forming on his face. She made a punch at him, which he quickly blocked. "What's up with you today? You're never like this."

"I said: It's. NONE. Of. Your. Business." She scowled, doing her best to break free of his grip. She struggled for a moment before wiggling her way out of it, getting a few steps away before he roughly grabbed her arm. As if by instinct, Aida span around while avoiding being tangled in her arm, and slapped him. "Just leave me alone!" She screamed, using the shock that resulted from her angry action to break away and run off.

The second she was locked in the barn however, her anger evaporated as she slid down the wooden door. More tears burst forth, her hands going to her head and her knees sliding up to leave her in a cradled position. Had she really just slapped Andrew? Yes. Yes, she had. She had not meant to, it just... happened. She took her anger out on him... because of that deity!

Her hands fell from her face, clenched into fists as she looked up; this was not her fault. It was all his fault, that stupid Harvest King had caused all of this. His ungrateful attitude, his taking Finn away from her, his demands, and his disgust for her for no apparent reason. That is what caused her to cry herself to sleep, that was what caused her to rip up the strawberry, that is what caused her to behave like this! Her right fist raised and slammed into the ground, the twang of pain masked by her reemerging anger as she stood up.

Aida practically knocked the barn door off its hinges as she stomped outside, heading in the direction of the Garmon Mines. She paid Andrew no mind as he tried to get her to stop, and continued on her way, leaving him behind. She did not look back as she heard his cries stop, nor did she when an exasperated sigh reached her ears. She just continued on forward towards her destination, an angry scowl glued to her face.

Oh that Harvest King was going to get it, that was for certain.

A/N: Hey, everyone! Sorry for the lack of an update on regular schedule. I realized I had to change the updating day and then I had to prepare for an exam so I was delayed. Thank you all for being patient and thanks to those that reviewed! I'm also sorry for the lack of Harvest King in this chapter, but trust me there will only be a few of these in there. If you have any comments, please review or PM me, I would love to hear what you have to say~


	3. An Apology?

Aida did not bother to stop by the Goddess Spring to see if the Harvest Goddess could just whisk her up their with whatever deity powers she may have had. Ascending the mines, though tiring, was the only way to ensure her anger was not taken out on anyone that did not deserve it. So she bypassed both the Spring and the villagers who waved at her, her exasperated aura leaving them rather hurt. Some of them even tried to follow her for a bit, but when she merely huffed in response to their pleadings, they froze and turned away. Whatever was bothering the usually cheerful farmer, it was obviously something she did not wish to talk about; and so she was able to ascend inner mountains as she wished: alone.

Unlike her previous visit to the top of the mountain, Aida felt no need to stop and catch her breath. She merely stormed out of the naturally made entrance, scowl stuck on her face as she continued onto the final set of stairs. It took her half a minute to reach the shrine that they had summoned the Harvest King to, a small buzz of pleasure filling her as the fiery deity came into her line of sight. His back was currently turned, which was all the better for what she considered doing. However, all inner plans came to be for naught when he turned upon hearing her feet clicking against the weathered stone. His gaze instantly sharpened and his visage became one of disgust, but it faltered slightly when he realized he was met with a similar view.

"Why have you come here?" His voice echoed throughout the mountains, as it had in their first meeting.

"You know exactly why I'm here." Her voice was sharp, as his had been the last time they had spoken. He did not falter, however, he merely crossed his arms and gave her a questioning glare.

"Whatever foolish notions you're carrying, drop them. Your being here is not justified; I did not request your presence. And you certainly did not seek council with me." His voice cut back just as sharply, the fiery aura around him flaring slightly as he emphasized certain words.

"Get off your high horse," Aida responded after a moment, her normally soft blue eyes sharpening dangerously "it's annoying."

At this the deity nearly popped a blood vessel, if he had use for such a thing. How dare this mortal attempt to command him? Who did she think she was? Unfortunately for her, he did not ask that, nor was his response very pleasant. Aida had no time to prepare for his sudden rush, grabbing her forcefully by the collar and lifting her up to his face. "I shall not tolerate such insolence!" His voice boomed, the cloudy atmosphere surrounding the mountaintops crackling with sudden bursts of lightning. Despite this, Aida's scowl remained planted on her face, though it faltered slightly as the deity shook her.

"Let go of me." She stated simply, keeping the slight tinge of worry out of her voice. She had not been expecting the Harvest King to be physically violent, but now that she knew his temper was easily set off she could proceed with greater caution.

"I'll do as I please." He spat back at her, his iron grip not loosening in the slightest as he held her up. It seemed that her anger had faded some, but she remained determined to harass him further. "I am not controlled by mortal whims." His voice remained deathly quiet, his harsh golden eyes focusing on hers.

"Obviously." Aida retorted, rolling her eyes and looking away. He only gripped her harder for the comment, but she did not react. "You should learn to be the bigger person," she stated after a few moments, wincing internally when his steel grip only became harder around her form. "I've done everything to help you and this is what I have to show for it." She said rather spitefully, turning to look at him with sharp eyes yet again. He faltered at that, but remained holding her up above the ground.

"I thought you'd at least be grateful, considering I saved your land while you were off doing who knows what." The venom in her voice began to pick up again, and he this time he back off enough to the point she was lowered. "But no, instead I have to deal with your sorry ass." She was on the ground now, the deity in front of her shaking slightly, though whether it was with anger or something else was unclear. "Well get this, I'm done. Say whatever you want to, but I'm not helping you anymore. Go find someone else to take care of your grunt work, I've done my job." She turned to leave at this, but turned one final time as she reached the staircase. "Your welcome, by the way."

With that said she turned back around and descended the ancient stairway and entered the mine, continuing to descend the cavern. She had not expected a reaction from the Harvest King after that, and was relieved to find that he had not attempted to stop her. Maybe what she had said would sink in and he would learn some manner of courtesy. As she stepped out of the mine, she smiled, and continued on her way back to the farm. The villagers that noticed her this time looked away instantly, but looked back when she called out or waved to them. This change of behavior was rather strange, but they accepted it, knowing that the farmer must have dealt with her earlier problems. As long as she was back to normal, that was all that really mattered after all.

Once Aida had settled herself back home, she sincerely apologized to Andrew, having been rather upset with the way she had acted. Though he was extremely confused by her change in behavior, as the villagers had been, he accepted her apology. He knew whatever had been troubling her had obviously passed, now that she was back to her normal self, he did not care that she had hit him. With their relationship still in tact, the two farmers returned to their work (most of which had been ignored during the day due to Aida's outburst), finishing at their usual time easily.

That night, Aida sighed as she got under the covers, feeling nothing but relief from having confronted the Harvest King. Things seemed as if they would go back to normal, despite the fact that Finn was no longer around to accompany the farmer. However, she was quite mistaken, for in the middle of the night she woke up to a strange tapping on her body. Shaking sleep from her eyes as she tried to figure out what the tapping was, she was surprised to see a struggling Finn attempting to get her to wake. "Come on, Aida. Wake up! We have to talk!" He said, not realizing that she had woken up yet.

"Finn!" Aida nearly shrieked when she was finally awake, hugging the Sprite to her chest in an enormous embrace. "You're back!" She continued to gush, crushing him into her now upright body. All the while he kicked and struggled against her grip, screaming something about her needing to stop and listen to him. His protests fell upon deaf ears, however, as she continued to hug him to her chest for several more minutes before he finally kicked against her chest and miraculously broke free.

"That's enough, Aida!" He seemed rather angry, which caused the farmer to frown. "We need to talk."

"What about?" Though Aida had a good idea of what he wanted to talk about.

"About your actions today, Aida. How could you treat the Harvest King like that? And how could you possibly quit? We need you Aida!" He asked, his voice shifting from a disappointed tone to a pleading one as he went.

"I have my reasons Finn, besides my job was to help you get the Harvest King back. I'm not going to leave the island, but my duty to you is finished." Aida responded, doing her best to remain neutral on the topic of her quitting.

"But the Harvest King-" Finn retorted, only to be cut off by Aida.

"I don't care about the Harvest King, Finn." Her tone became rather harsh, something she immediately regretted once she saw the small Sprite begin to shake. "Finn... I'm sorry. It's just that..." Her voice began to shake slightly, matching the Sprite as he began to float away.

"No, Aida. I understand." He drifted towards the window he had come in, looking back at the farmer who remained in bed. His body still shook as he tried to hold back whatever emotions were close to overflowing. "You're done with us," his voice faltered, tears starting to break through "you said so yourself."

"Finn, no! I-" Aida scrambled to get out of her bed, but the Sprite stopped her by turning to leave. As he went away, she could only stare at the few tears that fell to the earth outside her window, hardly able to believe what she just heard.

"He said he was sorry, Aida... I'm sorry I even bothered."

A/N: Ooh! The Harvest King is sorry! What could possibly happen next? You'll have to wait and see my friends~ Oh and I want to thank Antivertigo (aka Cera-chan) for helping me out with the ending. I was stuck trying to figure out just what I wanted Finn to say and she was super nice by helping me out. :)


	4. Tell Her I'm Sorry

The mountain air was thick with desperation, the normally sunny day downtrodden by the worry that radiated from the altar. The Harvest King stood, or rather fidgeted uncharacteristically as he looked up into the air; his visage changing from its normal stoic fierceness to something more vulnerable. Sweat was rather thick on his brow, though it was quickly extinguished by his hair. However, the same could not be said for his nerves and shaking that went on as he continued looking into the sky.

Up in the air, a warm light similar to that he had exuded upon entering the mortal's realm rained down on him, though its presence was not a comforting one. "Wh-what? How can this be?" he asked in disbelief, as whatever he was speaking to came to a close. In response to his questioning, the warm light flickered, a shaky woman's voice meeting him.

"I'm afraid I do not know the answer, Ignis." The voice said in an almost whisper, of course were there anyone else around they would not have heard anyway.

"B-b-but, how can this be? I-I don't understand!" the Harvest King replied, shaking even more now that he had a chance to actually analyze what he had been told. "How could Arene just... disappear? Her realm has never held danger!" He was on the edge of screaming now, hands nervously clenched into tight fists, his muscles tense.

"I know not what has happened to Arene." the voice answered again, still as shaky as it had been. "It is true she had never been in danger, I gave her that valley for a reason." the voice added, the light flickering slightly, causing the Harvest King to tense up. However she was quick to soothe whatever worries he may have had by shining a little brighter than before. "I will look into her disappearance, my child, please fret not."

"But Eden-"

"I will inform you of anything I find. Please, just relax." the voice, apparently Eden, spoke less shakily, a calm aura washing over the mountaintops. "Until then, Ignis, watch for anything that may bring harm to yourself or Sephia. I would not want anything to happen to you in my absence." she added before the light began to fade slowly.

"Yes. O-of course." the Harvest King responded, his voice barely a whisper as he watched the light fade into nothingness and the mountains return to normal. Even after it had faded away, he found himself still staring into the sky, attempting to fully realize what he had heard. Arene was gone... just... gone. She had vanished off of Eden's radar without a sign and now her realm was beginning to face turmoil. She had only been gone a day, and things were already in bad shape in the valley...

What could he do?

Just as he began to ponder just what he could do the sound of forcibly heavy footsteps reached him. He whirled around, automatically returning to his stoic fierceness only to have his image fill with disgust as he saw the mortal girl coming towards him. Though he faltered only slightly upon seeing her visage was filled with a similar loathing.

"Why have you come here?"

That was how the heated back and forth had started, and by the end of it, the mortal had easily disabled him. "I thought you'd at least be grateful,", "I saved your land while you were off doing who knows what.", "I have to deal with your sorry ass.", "You're welcome, by the way." Her voice had been so full of venom, and while that itself hurt, he realized with each passing second her poison ran through him that she was right. He had brought her wrath upon himself, and while he had originally be unafraid of the mere mortal who had somehow summoned him, he was shaking now. Why was she affecting him like this? He did not understand. And so he had been shaking even after she left, unable to recompose himself despite her presence fading.

He felt like fading. Disappearing back into Eden's realm so that he could heal, remove the venom that mortal girl had injected into his being. But he could not just fade out, disappear as he so would have liked to. He needed to look out for Sephia; he would not allow himself to fail Eden and break his word. But for the life of him, he could not recompose himself. Even after her words had faded on the winds that blew throughout the mountains they attacked his mind and caused his immortal being to burn from the inside out.

He had truly been a monster to she who he should have at least shown a little gratitude. And he knew it, but no matter what he should have done, he could not bring himself to show it. It was not that he was ungrateful, it was a matter much more personal. But he had to do something, if he did not he would be forced to break his word; an act that he would not stand for! "Finn." He was able to speak despite the inner torment that was running rampant through him. However, no sprite forth and so he shook slightly, hands clenching tightly as he raised his voice. "Finn!"

The mountaintops shook slightly, as his voice faltered and became a little breathy. But he did not need to call out again, for the little orange sprite appeared in a flash of orange light and sparkles.

"At your service Harvest King!" his squeaky voice somewhat shaky as he saluted the deity. After all, this was the first time since they had restored the Goddess Tree that he had been called upon. He wanted nothing more than to please the easily angered god.

"I-I have a request." the Harvest King stated, voice also shaky though calmer than it would have been without using all of his willpower. "One I can only trust you to handle."

"Y-Yes sir, what would you like me to do?" the sprite answered, seemingly unaware of the deity's failing composure.

"I-I need you to go to that girl." the Harvest King began, already beginning to lose out to the inner fire consuming him.

"You mean, Aida?"

"Yes. Please, go to her and inform her of the following." he continued shakily, retelling the events that had happened earlier. It came as a major surprise to the young sprite, who spoke up every so often to defend the girl, only to be silenced and forced to hear the deity out. By the end, the Harvest King was visibly shaking, but he forced himself to maintain the aura of authority he had somehow held onto throughout the meeting. "A-and please, let her know that I am sorry. And... that if she would allow, I would like for her to come here. I need to speak to her."

"Y-yes sir!" Finn responded after a moment, nodding a little frenetically before becoming little more than an orange blur before the Harvest King. The second he was gone, a sigh of relief and exhaustion passed from the god's lips as he stumbled backward. He had drained himself of all of his energy in that one meeting alone, and though it was impossible for him to die he felt as though very soon he would be consumed entirely.

Aida could not believe her ears. He was sorry? The mighty Harvest King was sorry? She shook her head in disbelief, trying to wrap her head around it. He did not seem the type to admit such a thing, but as she thought over the encounter, she realized it was a possibility. He had been shaking when he finally dropped her to the ground. And though she had taken that as anger, perhaps it was that her point sinking in. Someone as powerful as he was probably was not savvy to admitting he had been wrong in any sense.

But what could she possibly do now, at this hour? Nothing. Not to mention she had hurt Finn in a way she never dreamed imaginable. She had not meant to, she would never mean to, but it had happened. And no matter what she did at the moment, Finn would not talk to her, she knew deep down going to the Goddess Pond at this hour, especially without a clear head would be a mistake. So, the female farmer settled herself back on her bed and reluctantly closed her eyes. First thing the next morning she would go to the Goddess Pond and apologize for what she had said.

Then everything could go back to normal.

A/N: Okay, so I'm really really REALLY sorry that I haven't update in forever! School exams and life in general had caught up with me and I didn't get a moments rest, even after summer started! But! I am back now, and I promise updates will come regularly! Thanks to everyone who is still with this and a special thanks to Madame Joker who read through and reviewed all of my chapters so far~ I really appreciate all of your support and hope you can't wait to see the next chapter!

~ Renval


	5. I'm NOT Crazy!

Going to the Goddess Pond first thing the next morning did not go according to plan. Aida woke up an extra two hours later than normal, having been unable to truly fall back asleep; her mind had been and still was wracked with guilt. The only reason she even opened her eyes and scrambled out of bed was because of Andrew, who was banging on her door out of mere concern. The farmer was, after all, still getting back to her normal ground after whatever had happened to her; this was just another reason to worry about her well being. Aida, however, said nothing of the incident, choosing to act as if it did not happen. Instead she buried herself in her work, easily watering her entire field in half the time it normally took. But just as she was about to set her tools back in the shed, Andrew stopped her.

"Aida," he began, a little nervously, as if he had bad news "I-I think it would be best if you went to the Choral Clinic." Before she could respond to his request, however, he quickly continued in a more fast-paced speech. "It's just that I'm worried for your well being, and as a friend I think you're overworking yourself!" His face turned an extremely dark shade of red, his eyes shut tightly as if afraid he had misspoken. He barely peeked, opening his right eye very slightly when no immediate response came to him.

Honestly, Aida was not sure how to respond. It certainly was nice of him to worry for her and think about her health, but he did not understand the situation. How could he? He could not see Finn and the Goddess and by assumed extension the Harvest King. He would not believe her if she told him what was really going on; if she did, he would definitely be taking her to the Clinic to have her checked out!

"I... okay. I'll go to the Clinic, Andrew." she said after a moment, after his crimson shading had lightened to a more normal pink. And like he had before her, she moved before he could stop her; a light peck landing on his cheek before she smiled at him brightly. "Thank you for the concern, I made a good choice when I hired you." she added with a nod before moving past him to get into the shed, leaving him to stand there. Even when she got out of the storage, her tools discarded on the various shelves and hangers, he was still standing in the same spot, almost dazed.

"Get back to work, the cows won't feed themselves." Aida called as she passed him by, heading instead for the Garmon Mine district. Her farm hand was so busy pulling himself out of his stupor, he did not notice her heading in the opposite direction of town. Instead he nodded eagerly before rushing to the large barn on the other end of their property.

The walk to the mines was almost happier, with a certain swing in her step; it was something Aida could not exactly place. Maybe it was the fact that very soon everything would go back to normal and everything would be perfect. But whatever it was, nothing could stop Aida from humming a tune happily as she almost skipped along the path. The few villagers she passed waved at her, and she in turn waved back; almost breaking into a dance as she reached the path towards the Goddess Pond. However, just as she twirled, she met with unforeseen resistance and in turn was thrown backward, almost to the point where a passerby might have seen.

It took her several minutes to realize she had fallen on her behind.

"Huh?" she murmured, now lost in her own bewilderment as she pulled herself back to her feet. She tilted her head to the side as she tried to make her way down the path once more, only to meet with a same resistance and be thrown back; though this time she remained on her feet. She tried this tactic several more times before crossing her arms over her chest, a frown on her face. "What is going on?" she said aloud to herself, trying to move forward once more only to yet again meet with whatever was throwing her away. This time however, she was able to hold her ground and actually tap whatever it was.

Whatever it was, it felt like something between a wall of rubber and a wall of pure glass. She tapped it a few times, trying to see whatever it was, before giving up on figuring it out. Aida trudged back in minor defeat, almost leaving the district entirely before a thought crossed her mind. Someone else had to know what was going on here! Maybe one of the villagers could help her and then she could get on with what she wanted to do! Almost as quickly as the idea came to mind, she was turning on her heels and rushing back into the district to find a certain someone.

"Owen!" the redheaded blacksmith looked up from the rock he was chipping away at, lowering his hammer. "Owen!" Aida's voice bounced off the walls, showing she was still at the entrance of the mine.

"Back here!" he called out heartily, taking the time to grab a nearby rag from his tools and wiping himself off. Not seconds later the girl who had been calling his name was no more than three feet from him. "Hey, Aida!" he said with a wide smile, the same one he used to greet everyone on the island. "What can I do for ya?" he asked, figuring the farmer might need his help with something; she always was one to ask for his help when it came to problems around the mines.

"There's something really strange going on by the Goddess Pond, think you could check it out with me?" she replied to his question with one of her own.

"Sure," Owen replied, the smile still glued on his face "just let me finish up here and we'll head right over." With that said he grabbed his hammer once more and swung at the rocks in front of him. The rock finally came free from its place, cascading down the wall in a crumble; one shiny chunk separating itself from the rest. Owen said nothing of it, instead reaching down while flashing another smile before putting the ore away in his rucksack. "Alright then, let's go!"

The walk back to the Goddess Pond was a short one, with Owen tagging along behind only two steps or so. It was not long before Aida was slowing, feeling around with her hands to make sure she did not get thrown back like before. "What are you doing?" he asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion as he watched the farmer reach for something that was not there.

"It's around here somewhere... uh... hm... AHA! Here." Aida responded, tapping on the air, feeling whatever was repelling her. "Feel this." she added quickly, tapping it from other sides, unable to tell just what it was. However, when Owen reached his hand out, he felt nothing, in fact his arm went past the area where the invisible wall was. "But how can that-"

"Uh... Aida... are you feeling alright?" he asked, brow furrowed with concern now. There was nothing there, and the farmer seemed off her game now that she had seen him pass through whatever she thought was there.

"But I don't understand! It's right here! How can you not feel it?" Aida asked, her voice jumping up a bit in volume as she tapped the invisible barrier. She began to move around in a very uniform line, tapping the place that Owen had touched and many other areas. Her manner became that much more frenetic as she began to slam fists against it, an action which Owen found a little disturbing. The girl was acting quite strange, almost as strange as the other day when she refused to give him a proper hello. Just as she was about to back up and ram into it full force, the blacksmith got a hand on her left arm, keeping her from moving in any direction.

"Aida, I think I should take you to the Clinic." he said calmly, his face full of concern as he held her firmly in place.

"N-No! It's there I promise it is!" Aida retorted, still lost in a daze over the fact that it only applied to her and not Owen. The blacksmith gave her a look before attempting to move her calmly in the direction of town but she resisted. "No! Owen, trust me! I'm NOT crazy!" Aida added, her words coming out in a fast-paced stream. At this Owen gave a look of understanding, nodding slightly.

"I still think we should get you checked out. The heat might be getting to you or something..." he muttered the last comment, making it incomprehensible so the farmer would not react in a negative way. Aida resisted quite a bit at first, being no pushover thanks to all of her farm work, but eventually relaxed. Maybe she really did need to go to the clinic. Mentally sighing in defeat, Aida allowed Owen to lead her to the mine cart at the end of the district that led to town and hopped in alongside him.

The ride there was too quick to allow for some actual thinking about what happened outside the Goddess Pond. The walk to the Clinic proved to be the very same, with Owen asking her questions about how long she worked and what she had eaten that morning. Aida droned answers absentmindedly, her mind wanting to figure out what was going on between her and the Goddess. She never had a problem entering the Pond before, and why was Owen exempt from whatever was blocking her entrance? She did not know the answers, and it was really starting to bug her; so much so that she did not notice when Owen was ushering her into the clinic, already talking to Irene about seeing Dr. Jinn.

"What seems to be the problem?" That was the only question Aida caught, not even able to answer if she wanted to. Owen was doing all of the talking, explaining what had happened, even going so far as to tell them about her little freak out over some invisible wall. Dr. Jinn, who had entered the conversation only moments after they had spoken with Irene, took careful note of the story while writing things down on a clipboard. When Owen finally finished he turned to Aida, his look also showing an ample amount of concern. "And how are you feeling, Aida?"

"I'm not crazy." Aida muttered halfheartedly, mentally grimacing as the doctor began to check her forehead and eyes.

"I never said that you were, I'm just trying to figure out what is wrong." Jinn murmured, now jotting more notes down on his clipboard.

"I'm also not sick." Aida added, this time a little more bluntly this time; more so than she had originally meant, but she made no effort to take it back.

"I believe that's for me to decide." Jinn responded quietly, still writing information down on his clipboard. Aida mentally sighed yet again, knowing that sighing for real would not help the situation. It would also be disrespectful which, despite her current state of mind, was not how she wanted to be perceived. She was truly very grateful for Jinn, but right now she was not sick and she really did not need to be here. What she needed to be doing was finding out what was up with the Goddess Pond, and since Owen could not help her she would have to find someone else in town to help.

"Can I go now?" Aida asked the second Jinn placed his pen back on the counter next to the examination table.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Aida." Owen said in the doctor's steed. He had not left since they arrived, and though he did not want to leave, he had to. "Can you keep an eye on her for me, Jinn? I really need to get back to work and can't stay." he asked, turning his head towards the darker skinned man. Jinn nodded after a moment, showing Owen to the front door before returning to Aida.

"I think you should get some rest, Aida. Your condition is probably just a reaction to all of the work you've been doing. I'll go to your farm and let Andrew know that I intend to keep you overnight and that he shouldn't worry." Jinn said in his usual calm and collected manner before turning to leave. "If you need anything let Irene know." he called as he stepped out of the room. No more than two seconds later the door to the clinic opened and closed once more, leaving Aida alone.

"I've got to get out of here..." she muttered to herself, looking warily at the doorway that led to the main room. "But how..."

This was going to take awhile.

A/N: Alright, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter very much~ It was an absolute blast to write, and I hope you can't wait to see what happens next. I know, not too much action going on here, but what's up with the Goddess Pond? Guess you'll just have to wait and see! Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone, I really appreciate it~


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